Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate Lore #5

Ossian Studios devs have posted the latest lore from the upcoming adventure pack, The Mysteries of Westgate. Entitled "The History of Westgate", it additionally features a nifty screenshot of a monastery garden along with this:

Westgate sits amidst an area of the Dragon Coast first settled by humans from the Vilhon Reach roughly 3,000 years ago, but little is recorded until -349 DR (the Year of the Bold Poachers) when a Halruaan (Netherese) wizard named Saldrinar of the Seven Spells fought and destroyed Kisonraathiisar, the topaz dragon ruler of the region to win himself the throne as the city's first human king. Over the next sixteen centuries, a succession of kings would rule the city, many of whom would prove unusual indeed. A full listing can (and does) fill many volumes in the city's archives, but a brief summary of some of the more unusual highlights follows.In 286 DR (the Year of Foul Awakenings), the city fell at night to a cadre of elite mercenaries who emerged from the catacombs beneath the city. By morning's light, the king and his family were dead, and Orlak, calling himself the Night King, was crowned in his place. The new king held court only after the sun had set, was never seen during daylight hours, and always kept his entire face (except his eyes) shrouded behind a black-and-white-hatched porcelain mask. The reign of the ageless monarch ended one hundred and fifty years later when a company of paladins in the service of the Morninglord revealed him to be a vampire after which they destroyed him and established their commander, Dawnknight Gen Soleilon, as the new king. The so-called Radiant King would rule for many years with his most notable accomplishment being the erection of the city's first stone walls and the construction of the extensive sewer system.

In -27 DR (the Year of the Masquerade), King Ryndarth I died suddenly in his sleep, and his eldest son was crowned Ryndarth II. Before the year was out, however, an army led by Ashtukzu of Unther deposed him and revealed his true identity as a doppelganger who had secretly slain both King Ryndarth I and the Crown Prince before assuming the identity of the latter. Best known for initiating the tradition of Masquerade Balls in Westgate, the doppelganger monarch is known posthumously as the Masque King.

In 257 DR (the Year of the Speaking Mountain), the eruption of Mount Ugruth in the Vilhon Reach blackened the skies above Hlondeth with ash for months. In short order, the pirates of the Inner Sea formed a vast armada that descended on Westgate, determined to replace their base in Hlondeth. Thus began the reign of the Pirate Kings, a period in which no less than 77 pirate lords, most of whom are no longer remembered, ruled the city in rapid succession. Some reigned no more than a few hours, and the longest-serving such king lasted little more than five years. During this period, Westgate's role as a trading hub declined precipitously, and much of the city fell into disrepair. The last of the pirate kings was overthrown by Mulsantir Illistine, a Chondathan mercenary lord distantly related to the royal family of Chondath in 429 DR.

From 480 until 616 DR, the city was ruled by Lyonarth, a white-furred androsphinx from Nathlekh, City of Cats. In 615 DR, the king fell prey to the charms of Nessmara, a lamia noble who had assumed the guise of a gynosphinx. The next year, a visiting wizard from the north, identified only as the Handweaver, shattered Queen Nessmara's guise, revealing her true nature to all. The ensuing combat pitted the aged androsphinx king against his lamia noble queen, resulting in both their deaths. Confounding expectations, the Handweaver refused to proclaim himself the city's next king and instead volunteered his most senior apprentice. Before the year's end, Farnath Ilistar had been crowned king of Westgate, and his mentor, the Handweaver, had vanished from the city.

In 710 DR (the Year of the Toppled Throne) an Abyssal gate opened above the city, and a large host of tiefling warriors emerged from it, hotly pursued by a small company of tanar'ri. Much of the royal palace was destroyed in the resulting conflict, and King Thartryn Ilistar I perished during a fiery blaze. Although the fiends were eventually banished back to the Abyss and the gate closed, the bulk of the tiefling army survived. Within a fortnight, their leader, Iyachtu Xvim, claiming to be the Son of Bane, seized the throne of Westgate and imposed a draconian rule.

Twenty-four years later, the reign of the Fiend King came to an abrupt end following the sudden reappearance of the Handweaver. The legendary wizard and the king battled from dusk to dawn, laying waste to great swaths of the city. The Handweaver never emerged from the wreckage, though his body was also never found, allowing many to claim he had in truth survived. King Xvim, bearing horrific wounds, nevertheless proclaimed a magnificent victory.

However, that victory proved a pyrrhic one, for he was forced to flee by a host of mercenaries who had assembled outside the city walls while the conflict unfolded the night before. Led by Farnath Ilistar II, a great-great-grandson of King Farnath Ilistar I, the army marched into Westgate to token resistance, and Farnath II was proclaimed king by acclamation of the populace.

In 1236 DR (the Year of the Struck Gong), Queen Shlanarnla disappeared during a fierce storm, and the crown reverted to Verovan, great-grandson of King Blaervaer. King Verovan's reign was marked by heavy taxation, fueled in part by the need to rebuild the royal treasury and in part by the new monarch's penchant for rowing races. Twelve years later, Verovan died during a race with a Thayan galley, when he accidentally employed a whip tipped by cockatrice feathers to lash his crew, the whip having been placed on his ship by the treacherous Red Wizard he had challenged.

Upon the death of Verovan, the noble merchant families of Westgate, at last fed up with the excesses of the monarchy, established the "new" position of Croamarkh to serve as the elected head-of-state with terms of office lasting four years. This arrangement led to over a century of peace and tranquility... until 1353 DR, when a new force, the Night Masks, emerged. No effective solution to their presence has yet been found.

Developer Questions
Russ Davis, Writer (aka Tiberius209): No questions have been submitted.

Next Spotlight: The Lore of Westgate